EnvJustice

Consumption, Ecologically Unequal Exchange and Ecological Debt

Consumer blindness arises when people fail to consider (deliberately or not) the circumstances under which the products they consume reached their shops, or where the wastes from this consumption ends up, and what consequences this has. In a globalized world where the distance travelled by products has greatly increased, where resources are becoming scarce and overconsumption is leading to competition, this leads to an explosive mix of ignorance and injustice. This is especially so when consumption in one place creates some form of ecological debt in another place. EJOLT will increase the quality of the arguments of the Climate Justice movement by providing evidence in support of analyses of Ecologically Unequal Trade and Ecological Debt so as to raise consumer awareness leading to more responsible, less environmentally damaging consumption. We will also develop recommendations on European policy and directives with implications for consumption, for fossil fuels trading, for mining and for biomass transfers from South to North.